AUBURN, Ala. – In the first home meet of the season, the Auburn swimming and diving teams combined to win 26 of the 32 events as both the men and women earned convincing victories over LSU at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center on Saturday.
"I'm really excited about both programs," Auburn head coach Gary Taylor said. "Anytime you come out of your first meet of the season 1-0 on both sides, you've got to be excited. I'm really proud of the energy that I saw from both teams today. They competed hard. They were loud and raucous on deck, and that started from the first relay performer to the final relay performer."
The No. 13 Auburn women opened the meet by taking first and second place in the 200 medley relay and then won the next 10 swimming events en route to a 185-108 victory. The trio of Emily Hetzer (500 free, 1000 free), Sonnele Oeztuerk (100 back, 200 back) and Carly Cummings (100 breast, 200 breast) all won two individual races apiece.
It was more of the same on the men's side as No. 25 Auburn beat LSU, 187-111, in their first competition of the 2019-20 season. The home Tigers started and finished the meet with relay wins and closed with 11 total wins in the swimming events.
Senior Santiago Grassi finished the 50 free in 19.86 to claim first place, and he also won the 100 butterfly with a time of 47.67. Junior Spencer Rowe (100 breast, 200 breast) and sophomore Aryan Makhija (500 free, 1000 free) also earned a pair of first-place finishes for Auburn on the men's side.
For both the men and the women, it was a big day for the freshmen. Combined, five different Auburn freshmen won races. Averee Preble (200 butterfly), Abbey Webb (100 free) and Jack Armstrong (100 free) all won individual races while Ella Miller and Annie O'Dare both swam a leg for the winning women's 200 medley relay team.
"I thought our freshman really competed well both on the men's and women's sides," Taylor said. "For their first time out, having the opportunity to wear that AU for most them, they represented really well, and the future looks bright."
DIVING RECAP
Auburn won all four of the diving events in Saturday's meet. Senior Alison Maillard won the 1-meter (326.55) and 3-meter (323.78) competitions on the women's side, and her score in the 1-meter event was nine points off the Auburn record.
On the men's side, sophomore Conner Pruitt also finished first in the 1-meter (349.65) and 3-meter (388.43) events to begin his 2019-20 season the right way.
"I was really pleased," head diving coach Jeff Shaffer said. "I think starting the season with a very competitive LSU squad – obviously coached by my brother so there's a little bit of competitiveness between us – we were fortunate to come out on top and winning all four events. I'm very pleased with Allison and Conner's leadership. They definitely showed their experience and stepped up."
Auburn had three freshmen divers make their debut Saturday, and among them, Gretchen Wensuc earned a zone qualifying score (289.20) in the women's 3-meter competition.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Auburn women will be back in action next Saturday, Oct. 26 when they travel to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks at 11 a.m. CT. The men won't make that trip, but they will be back in the pool Saturday, Nov. 2 for a men's only meet on the road at Navy.
Both teams will return home for another dual meet against Alabama on Dec. 5.